Podcasts presented by Sue Dougan

Sue Dougan is joined by Loretta Minghella OBE, the first woman to hold the post of First Church Estates Commissioner with the Church of England. Having studied at Clare College, Cambridge, she started her career as a criminal lawyer – but her experience of a very tough case started her thinking of a different route. As a result, Loretta has worked in the Department for Trade and Industry as a legal advisor and held senior roles at the Securities and Investments Board, and later became Chief Executive of Christian Aid and served as a trustee at the Disasters Emergency Committee. Tune in to this episode of Track Record to find out more!

Colin D Ellis harboured ambitions to be an architect before working in banking, sales and IT. Since then, he’s worked with companies all over the world including Red Bull, Thomson Reuters and Australia’s government to help them transform their cultures. He’s an expert in boosting happiness at work and tackling harassment and bullying, in order to improve productivity and employee experience. He’s a music lover and claims Y2K (the Millenium Bug!) was prevented by people like him working on IT systems – a tongue-in-cheek claim you’ll hear, amongst other conversation, in this edition of Track Record.

It’s not often we hear of an entrepreneur under the age of ten, but Ioannis Antypas claims to have been making money and spotting an opportunity since the tender age of nine years old, when he decided to start selling bottled water to school friends – as well as their parents! He’s got vast experience in the hospitality industry, and says his latest brainwave was triggered by being served a cold steak in a restaurant. He explains his newest venture, Hela Job, in this episode of Track Record.

Claire Dale is the founder of Companies in Motion and a specialist in physical intelligence. She was previously a well-known dancer, leading her own dance company to critical acclaim and creating works for Sir Paul McCartney. She says ‘mental and physical rehearsal’ of the most challenging parts of your day can help to keep the adrenaline at healthy and productive levels, drawing on her own performance background to work with clients such as Sony and Coca-Cola.

Dave Coplin recently left Microsoft after ten years as CEO (Chief Envisioning Officer!) and now runs The Envisioners, his own company dedicated to helping companies manage future technology. He’s an in-demand speaker and writer. His first proper job was in an Apple store, and he urges us to be less cautious and fearful about technology, especially where our children are concerned. He says he still takes inspiration from a former boss and mentor, whose management style was to ‘sit quietly at the back and let things unfold with his encouragement.’ Listen as he urges us to get out of the 9-5 commuter, “bums in seats” mentality many corporations still have, and instead to use technology – such as laptops – as they were supposed to be used: to encourage a new way of working, rather than sticking to an outdated model of what work should be.

Steven Van Bellegham is a thought leader, marketer, and keynote speaker. Steven is also an entrepreneur who likes to invest in start-ups, and works in consultancy with organisations of all sizes. He is co-founder of consultancy firm Nexxworks and of content creation company Snackbytes, and he’s a guest marketing professor at Vlerick Business School. He loves Disney, and admires how President Barack Obama used to handle his ‘homework’ at the White House. Listen on to find out more. Published on 10 Oct 19

Ken Allen started in accountancy before joining DHL three decades ago. For ten years from 2009 he was CEO of DHL Express, responsible for turning around the company from a loss-making mega brand (losing -$3bn globally in 2008) into a world-class performer (profits of $2bn in 2018). He recently handed over the leadership reigns, and is now CEO of DHL’s eCommerce Solutions division. He’s a “back-to-the-floor” kind of guy, often spending time with his organisation’s driving workforce (more often wearing company uniform than a suit!) and has a habit of breaking into song at functions and meetings – earning himself the nickname ‘the Singing CEO’.

Alana Parsons is Chief Operating Officer and travel money expert at Caxton FX, where she’s worked for the last 15 years. A self-confessed finance obsessive, she’s been known to belt out pop songs in the middle of marathon days and nights at the office and believes in bringing a lightness of touch to the organisation! She’s widely travelled, loves the USA in particular and as you’ll hear has been the instigator of one or two company traditions.

Diana Theodores is director of Theatre 4 Business, using her extensive background in the theatre to bring performance and creativity to corporations. She serves on the faculties of the Cranfield School of Management, The Banff Centre and Mobius Executive leadership. She has a PhD from Trinity College in Dublin and still loves all things performance – listen as she describes delivering coaching to a bunch of butchers! She’s passionate on the subject of women in leadership, working hard with women who have CEO potential. She’s also the author of ‘Performing As You’, drawing on her background in theatre to bring confidence and authenticity to the workplace.

Julian Daizan Skinner is a British Rinzai Zen Buddhist Rōshi master - the first British man to achieve that level. He discovered mindfulness and yoga after an earlier career in engineering, and now teaches and writes prolifically on the subject. He’s the founder of Zenways, which promotes and encourages activities and practices that enhance human wellbeing, balance and awakening in the modern world. Julian also explains how his years in the study of zen have given him an insight into how it can be applied to best effect in the workplace.